Breakthrough device can produce premium helium

China has developed a device capable of producing ultra high purity helium exceeding 99.9999 percent, marking a breakthrough in strategic resource technology.

Helium, a nonrenewable resource derived from natural gas, is valued for its ultralow temperature properties and chemical inertness. It plays a critical role in large-scale scientific facilities, advanced medical applications and the aerospace sector.

But the average helium abundance in China's natural gas fields is only 0.03 to 0.05 percent, far lower than the 1 to 7 percent found in international helium-rich fields. That has posed challenges for traditional extraction technologies to reach the purity threshold of 99.9999 percent.

The new device, developed by Vacree Technologies Co, completed engineering acceptance in Yan'an, Shaanxi province, recently. It is the first of its kind in China capable of producing helium with a purity of 99.99997 percent and neon impurities below 0.3 parts per million. The system can operate around the clock, extracting 400,000 cubic meters of high purity helium annually.

The purity level reaches the so-called 6N9 grade, meaning only one impurity molecule exists in 1 million gas molecules, according to Rong Chengxu, who led the program, as reported by Science and Technology Daily.

After six years of development, Rong's team pioneered a combined extraction process. It begins with catalytic dehydrogenation to remove hydrogen impurities, followed by membrane separation and pressure swing adsorption to eliminate gases such as nitrogen and methane, and finishes with ultra-low-temperature refining to remove neon.

The technology has reached a world-class level, according to a third-party evaluation. It marks a significant step in China's engineering application of high-purity helium and strengthens the country's strategic resource security, said Zhang Xuehua, chief engineer of Vacree Technologies.